KAMPALA – As part of its 16 days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence campaign this year, the U.S Mission in Uganda on Sunday announced a partnership with acclaimed American Hip Hop artist and social entrepreneur Toni Blackman, in collaboration with Ugandan artists led by Remah Namakula to release the single “Invisible Woman”.
The song aims to bring awareness of issues related to gender-based violence, gender equality, and the health, rights, and well-being of girls and women. 20 percent of publishing & sound recording proceeds will be donated to Women Deliver
Toni Blackman is the first Hip Hop artist selected to work as a Cultural Ambassador with the U.S. Department of State. She is currently a Visiting Scholar in NYU’s MusEdLab. Toni has been an artist with the Carnegie Hall Weill Music Institute and a fellow in the Echoing Green Foundation’s Thought Leadership Cohort. Creator of Freestyle Union Cypher Workshop and Rhyme like a Girl, for which she was awarded a prestigious Open Society Institute fellowship (Soros Foundation), Toni is one of the world’s foremost Hip Hop activists.
“Invisible Woman” was released on Nov 25th (International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women) and will be used during the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence. This is a UN-endorsed international campaign to challenge violence against women and girls.
According to the Uganda Police Force’s annual crime report, gender-based violence cases that were reported and investigated increased by 4% (from 38,651 to 40,258 cases) between 2015 and 2016.
The 2016 Uganda Demographic and Health Survey revealed that up to 22% of women aged 15 to 49 in the country had experienced some form of sexual violence. The report also revealed that annually, 13% of women aged 15 to 49 report experiencing sexual violence. This translates to more than 1 million women exposed to sexual violence every year in Uganda.
Violence against women has recently taken new, more sophisticated forms. An increasing number of women are, for instance, reporting cyber-bullying and abuse through social media and smartphones.
